CALL FOR APPLICATIONS TO HOST 2022 AFRICAN YOTH SDGS SUMMIT
Introduction
The African Youth SDGs Summit is a pan-African forum that connects the youth in Africa to learn about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to empower them to contribute actively its implementation, monitoring and accountability. Launched by Youth Advocates Ghana (YAG) with support from UNDP Ghana, UNFPA Ghana and other local and international organizations, the summit has witnessed consistent growth of interest and importance since its inception in 2017 among youth and youth-related organizations, civil society, development partners, the UN System, state actors, policy makers, local governments, and the private sector in Africa. The Summit has evolved to become an important multi-stakeholder platform with focus on young people and their roles in achieving SDG Targets.
Over the three years in the life of the summit it has attracted about 10,000 youth and other stakeholders to deliberate on critical issues affecting the achievement of SDGs. From the interactions of the past previous summit held in Accra, Ghana it was evident that the youth of Africa have become increasingly visible and effectively active in influencing national policy with new ideas, philosophies and technological expertise if adequate space is created for them. They have the capacity to bring fresh perspectives to the present development approach, while through critical thinking, innovation, and their own style of communication, they can drive changes in their communities and countries.
With the underlying principle to develop the Summit into an annually rotating convention to maximize the inclusion and participation of African youth from across the continent and beyond, the African Youth SDGs summit will be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, this year and consecutively will be hosted by another country that will be declared at the 4th summit. This will require a commitment to a long-term vision of the future, alongside building linkages across the continent. From the inception of the summit back in 2017, there has been a great deal of interest expressed by various countries to host the summit which the team, together with our patrons felt it wise to consider hence the hosting of the summit on rotational basis beginning with the 4th being hosted by Ethiopia.
OBJECTIVES
- Create awareness on the Sustainable Development Goals and the Agenda 2063.
- Create a platform for all stakeholders to interact and exchange ideas to accelerate actions for the delivery of the SDGs’ post Covid-19 era.
- Connect, network, and learn from a pan-African audience and contribute to an inspiring and constructive debate on the role of youth in the SDGs.
- To identify, award and encourage individuals and institutions whose initiatives are impacting the attainment of the SDGs.
- Identify and scale up about 10,000 youth-led SDG solutions by 2030 through the SDGs Innovation Challenge programme.
EXPECTED OUTCOMES
- Involve youth leaders, youth organizations, civil society, national governments, the UN System, academia and the private sector in SDGs implementation, monitoring and accountability, and subsequently draw out interlinkages not only across the 2030 Agenda, but also to the agenda 2063 and other frameworks through capacity-building workshops.
- Underline and demonstrate the importance of prioritizing youth empowerment in the recovering process of the Covid-19 and in the delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals
- Identify and scale up youth innovations and best practices through the SDGs innovation Challenge initiative.
- Deliver a letter of action to the United Nations Secretary General calling for urgent actions of global leaders towards addressing youth unemployment, education, high rate of teenage pregnancy among others.
- Deliver an outcome document aimed to capture the most salient best practices and lessons learned, as well as key policy takeaways from the summit.
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA TO HOST
For the summit to be hosted by another country there must be a host organization that shall spearhead the preparation and convene the summit. The following eligibility criteria should be met by the host organization:
- The organization should be a youth focused / led with its target beneficiaries being young people.
- The application is open to all qualified organizations in Africa.
- The organization should provide proof of registration and be in good standing, meeting the standards set by the National NGO Regulatory body of the host country.
- The organization shall provide at least two letters of recommendation from different reputable organizations. A letter of recommendation from a government ministry or agency and a United Nations agency would be an added advantage.
- A detailed proposal to host the summit shall be submitted addressing the following;
- demonstrate the organization’s experience with handling events of this nature,
- capability to mobilize resources and take lead in organizing the summit bearing in mind aspects of inclusiveness through the organization structure and be a part of an SDG implementation or monitoring team within the host country.
- Demonstrate history of working with the government and UN agencies especially on the SDGs
- Propose date, venue, budget, propose topics and themes for the summit
- Other logistical considerations.
- An organization with a team member who has attended the African Youth SDGs Summit before is an added advantage.
- A summary of proposal of what the intended summit would look like, history of host country and its reception to events of this nature, political situation and accessible to international travel.
Applications are expected to reach the African Youth SDG Summit Secretariat by November 15th, 2021. For any further information, please email info@youthsdgssummit.org